September is finally here! Are you ready?

The other day, my friend and I were talking about the fact that the beginning of the school year and the beginning of the calendar year (which in Spain and Ireland coincide with September and January, respectively) are the two moments when many of us take time to plan and think about new projects, and we concluded that September is probably more productive than January in that respect.

That´s why I think this is the perfect moment to start a coaching process... What? You don´t know what a coaching process is? Well, honestly, that doesn´t surprise me; the word coaching It is a very widely used term nowadays, but it doesn´t always have a clear meaning, which can lead to a lot of confusion. It´s often associated with mentoring or therapy; however, those concepts are widely different (this is explained here and here).

So then, what is coaching? We can start with the official definition by ICF (International Coaching Federation), which is the world´s institution of reference regarding coaching:

ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential

What does this mean? It means that, for a certain period of time (a few weeks, a few months), the coach accompanies the client in their process of personal and professional growth (which always go hand in hand) and creates the appropriate environment to enable the coachee to make progress.

The starting point of a coaching process is defining a specific goal identified by the client: it can be a problem to solve, a goal to achieve, a challenge to overcome, a task or project to complete... The goal is important because it serves as a reference point: it allows the coachee to compare where they are with where they want to be in their chosen field or area. From there, the process consists of defining a plan, a path to get from here to there, and then starting to walk that path, making a firm commitment to do the necessary work.

It´s really important to get off to a good start with the coaching process by clearly defining the goal. But undoubtedly, the most interesting part is not whether the goal is achieved in the end or not, but everything that happens along the way. That´s where we see the magic, the growth and the evolution happen. But these things takes time; that´s why it´s a process, not a one-off session!

What happens along the way is that all kinds of things come up: surprises, unforeseen events, expected and unexpected results, internal and external obstacles... If you think about it, you´ll see that it´s normal. That´s how life works; we can´t control it, no matter how much we want to. And that´s what often makes us feel desperate and give up instead of continuing to pursue our goals. A good coach can help us, not just to navigate unexpected events more or less successfully, but even to make the most of them, learning from them and becoming stronger as a result..

With a coach´s expert facilitation, the client has the opportunity (as long as they take it seriously) to observe, reflect, and learn as they go along their path, and they will inevitably start to realise things. Eventually, as a result, as the client becomes more self-aware and gains clarity about their situation, they discover new perspectives, becoming capable of overcoming blockers and creating options and opportunities that didn´t exist before.

The impediment to action advances action.
What stands in the way becomes the way.

Marcus Aurelius

Would you like to start a coaching process with me, and discover the treasures hidden along the way?